(Please see my latest on this, with the nature of the deal being discussed)

By the end of this week, we should know whether Congress will make a play to end the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy on gay service members, or whether they’ll allow continued discrimination in our nation’s armed forces. Aubrey Sarvis of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, the main advocates for repealing the policy, called it an “all hands on deck” moment. Adam Bink lays out the timeline:

On Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a vote on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The House is also expected to vote late this week. As I wrote last week, if we lose this vote, it will be a significant blow even if repeal passes in the House. Or, put another way, we simply cannot afford to lose this vote.

The House could end up with a full floor vote, but they are waiting for the Senate Armed Services Committee to take the lead. If they end up passing a defense authorization bill out of committee with repeal, the House will take it to the floor and try to insert it as an amendment. At last count, supporters needed three of these five votes on the Senate Armed Services Committee for passage: Robert Byrd, Bill Nelson, Evan Bayh, Jim Webb and Scott Brown. Ben Nelson is an announced No; Susan Collins is a Yes.

All of this attention from the LGBT community, which has led to a strained relationship with the White House, could be forcing the Administration in the direction of a deal. At least, that’s what Politico is reporting:

TALK UNDER WAY: Congressional leaders, gay rights advocates and Pentagon officials are meeting at the White House Monday morning to discuss an emerging deal on repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gays in the military, sources say.

once in charge the White House doesn’t suddenly find reason, likely from the five-sided building across the river, to slow things down again.

uh yep, Ms Spalding is on it:

it’s repeal with no teeth, as in it gives the administration and the LGBT groups the ability to claim “victory” in 2010, without actually freeing the members of the military who will continue to serve in silence. They have to wait for 1) the study to reach completion (what was likely to happen regardless) and a new wrinkle — 2) an arbitrary time when the President, Gates and Mullen decide they know how to implement it without any ill effects, and the president signs an executive order signaling “go forth” with anti-discrimination measures. That’s a pitiful half-measure. How about “it’s an order?

Such a deal — no timeline, specifically disallowing anti-discrimination language, and allows the President, SecDef or JCS to unilaterally veto implementation indefinitely. With no ban or language restricting the discharging of servicemembers simply for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered.